Joseph p



(No Model.)

J. P. ELLACOTT.

Marching Machines.

No. 234,119. Patented Nov. 9,1880.

. 231135598 I Invenior ,%Z Jsefifi PZ'JJavnZZ a. I? "jimm NITED STATESPATENT OFFIcn.

'JOSEPH P. ELLAOOTT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO UNION BRASSMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

STARCHlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 234,119, dated November9, 1880.

Application filed March 15, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH P. ELLAGOTT, ofChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Starching-Machines, which arefully described in the following specification, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a frontelevation of a [0 machine embodying my improvements; and Fig. 2, avertical section of the same, taken on the line 00 :r, Fig. 1.

My invention relates to machines for starching clothes, being especiallydesigned for use in laundries; andthe object of my presentimprovementsis .to prevent the starch from being cooled by the surplus which isexpressed by the rollers, and to keep it always at thepropertemperature, and also to provide means for readily operating thestarching-rollers.

The invention consists in the special construction and arrangement ofthe steam-pipe, in connection with the vat or tub, and mechanism forcompressing the starchcd fabric over the tub. t

It also consists in the special combination of the vat or tub,steam-pipe, and. compressin grollers.

The construction and operation of a machine 0 embodying my inventionwill be hereinafter fully described, and the special improvementsdefinitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, A represents a metallic frame, consisting substantiallyof standards a, 3 5 at each end, constructed with suitable legs andjoined together by cross bars or braces, as may be required, to give thestructure strength. The upper portion of these standards is closed, andbetween them is arranged'aplate of sheet '40 metal, 1), in semicircularform, which is secured to the standards in any suitable manner, therebyforming a vat or tub, B, which constitutes the receptacle for the liquidstarch. Near the vbottom, and at the rear side of this vat, is ar- 5ranged a steam-pipe, 0, running the entire length of the vat,and'havingperforations c in its under side and a little in front of thecenter, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. This pipe passes out throughone of the standards, and is supplied with steam from the feed-pipe 'tosome portion of the frame.

0, which should be provided with a cock for shutting off and letting onsteam at will.

A roller, D, is mounted in the upper part of the standards, above andjust a little in rear of the steam-pipe O. The shaft d, to which thisroller is secured, is provided with suitable hearings on the standards,on which it turns, and on one end, outside of the standards, adriving-wheel, E, is loosely mounted, which is con nected with theshaft, at pleasure, by means of an ordinary sliding clutch, F, operatedby a lever, f.

A second roller, G, is mounted in the upper ends ofarms H, which arejust outside of the upper portion of the standards, the shaft 9 of 6 theroller being arranged to turn freely in the upper ends of these arms.The arms are fastened at their lower ends to a rock-shaft, I, mounted inthe standards underneath the vat, so that by oscillating this shaft theroller Gr will be swung back and forth over the top of the vat or tub.

A crank-arm, t, is fastened to the rock-shaft I, and is arranged toproject horizontally in rear thereof. A spiral spring, J, is attached 75 to the outer end of this crank-arm, and, extending upward, is fastenedat its upper end Obviously this spring will operate to hold thecrank-arm up, thereby keeping the roller G thrown forward to the frontof the machine, in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 of thedrawings.

A treadle, K, is arranged below the tub, being pivoted at its rear endto one of the transverse rods of the frame, and extendingin front 8 5within easy reach of the attendant. This treadle is connected by a rod,70, to the outer end of the crank-arm i, so that whenever the treadle isdepressed, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings, theroller G will be 0 swung over the top of the tub toward the rear of themachine until it is brought into contact with the roller D, as shown indotted lines in said Fig. 2.

The two rollers D and G are elastic, rubber 5 rollers being preferable,and the roller D is preferably slightly larger in diameter than theroller G. The roller D is rotated outward in the direction of the arrowin Fig. 2 of the drawings by means of the driving-wheel E, and I00whenever the roller G is brought into contact with the roller I), orwith anything between the two rollers, a corresponding outward rotationwill be communicated to the said roller G, as also indicated by an arrowin the same figure.

The table L is attached to the frame-work of the machine in rear of thetub and slightly above the rollers, and a narrow strip or table, I, isarranged at the front ofthe machine, which partially covers the rollerGwhen in a state of rest.

The tub is provided with a discharge-cock, M, at its bottom, by means ofwhich it maybe emptied whenever desired.

The operation of this machine is as follows: The tub is partially filledwith the prepared starch and steam let on sutticient to keep the starchat about a boiling temperature. The rollers being separated, as shown infull lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the articles to be starched areimmersed in the liquid. Then with a. hook the attendant seizes one ofthe articles and lifts it to a point between the rollers, when theroller G is thrown to the rear by depressing the treadle until thearticle of clothing is pinched between the two rollers. The roller D inthe meantime having been set in motion, it is evident that the clothingwill be carried upward between the two rollers, and, the roller G beingheld up with sufiicient pressure against the clothing, the starch isevenly distributed throughout the fabric and all surplus expressed. Thestarched garment is carried upward and backward upon the table L. Thestarch expressed by the action of the rollers will, of course, becooled, and, ifit fell back into the tub in front of the rollers, wouldnaturally be the first used subsequently, and thus cold starch would beapplied to the clothing instead of hot. Now, from the arrangement ofthesteam-pipe and rollers, the cool starch,when expressed by therollers, falls a little in rear of the steam-pipe, and by reason of thespecial arrangement ofthe inlet-openings in the steampipe aslightcurrent is produced by the injetting steam downward and forward from thepipe, owing to the inclination or curvature of the bottom of the tub.This action will cause the cool starch falling from the rollers to becarried downward at the rear of the tub, behind and underneath thesteam-pipe, where it is brought into immediate contact with the steamand thereby reheated, so that the entire body of starch will be keptconstantly heated to the required degree.

It will be noticed that with the mechanism above described no force isrequired to pull the articles through the rollers, but the action isentirely automatic when the vibrating roller is thrown up against therevolving roller, and the certainty of the action is somewhat improvedby making the drivingmoller slightly larger than the vibrating roller.The spring will, at all times, tend to separate the rollers wheneverreleased from the action of the treadle. The arran gement of thesteam-pipe tends to keep up a constant motion in the starch body tothoroughly inix and heat the latter.

The parts of this machine may be changed in construction andarrangement, obviously, without materially changing the operationwhereby the useful results are obtained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a starching-machine, the vat or tub and a steam-pipe, C, arrangedat the bottom and near one side of the tub, and provided withinlet-openings in its under side and toward the farther side of the tub,in combination with mechanism for compressing the starched fabric overthe tub at the side nearest to the steampipe, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

2. The tub B, having an inclined or curved bottom, in combination withthe steam-pipe 0, arranged in the bottom at one side of the tub, andprovided with inlet-openings con its under side and a little inside thecenter thereof, and the elastic rollers D G, all arranged and operatingsubstantially as described.

JOSEPH P. ELLACOTT.

Witnesses:

J NO. 0. MACGREGOR, W. (J. CORLIES.

